Bears bash South Jefferson, move to 2-0

Two weeks, two victories – and every indication that the Chittenango football team is on the same championship path as it was a season ago.

The Bears went north, to Adams, to face South Jefferson in a non-league game Friday night, and again used a steady ground game, mixed in with timely big plays, to roar past the Spartans 48-6.

Chittenango’s defense again stood out, too. The first unit did not give up a point, South Jefferson only getting on the board in the fourth quarter, long after the starters were on the bench and the outcome was resolved.

A 21-0 Bears blitz through the first quarter included Devin Phelps returning a kick 60 yards for a touchdown. Otherwise, Chittenango struck with its fierce ground attack, scoring on runs of 30 yards by Joe Gilona and 17 yards by Kyle Zimmer.

Gilona added a second TD on a two-yard dash in the second quarter, and as it wound toward halftime the Sparatns inched up to the line of scrimmage, desperately trying to stop the run.

Seeing this, Phelps, from his own 24-yard line, threw deep and found Josh Cretaro, who finished off a 76-yard scoring play. Steve Billington’s fourth extra point (he was six-for-seven for the night) made it 34-0, where it stood at halftime.

Still not content, the Bears tacked on two more touchdowns in the third quarter. Gilona found the end zone a third time, on yet another two-yard plunge, while Connor Mills went 22 yards for the other score.

Now Chittenango makes its way back home and back into Class B West division play, ready to face Marcellus next Friday at 7 p.m.

The Mustangs are 0-2, having taken a painful 13-12 defeat to Westhill in its last outing when a two-point conversion attempt to win the game in the final minute got stopped just short of the goal line.